Monday 28th
No ringing today due to the breeze but we did get the remainder of the woodcrete boxes up, replacing more decayed or woodpeckered wooden boxes. Tits are already displaying near the boxes.
Saturday 26th
Six new birds and seven retraps were the reward for those who got up this morning. The new birds included two more House Sparrows, two Chaffinches, a Song Thrush and a Great Tit.
Wednesday 23rd
A slight lull in the windy conditions lasted about an hour or so giving a frosty, clear, start before the breeze increased. Four birds were caught - a new Kestrel and Blue Tit plus a retrap Blackbird and Chaffinch. The Kestrel was of interest as it was in the vicinity of the nest box where we have ringed the pulli each year. So it is either a 'old' male who has avoided us thus far or an incomer to the area.
Wednesday 16th
I have regularly commented on the lack of reports of the colour ringed House Sparrows but there has been two photos in the last couple of days, one from by the Chequers and the other by the Sandwich toll gate. Keep your eyes open for them around the area and let us know if you've managed to read or photo the code.
Tuesday 15th
It was good to get some ringing done. It was a calm, clear, and very frosty start. This changed quickly as cloud came in from the west and a breeze picked up. Nineteen birds were caught before it got too windy. Ten of these were new. Things started well with a new Redwing in the Heligoland and a new Blackbird in the Observatory crow trap. The other new birds were another Blackbird, a Great Tit, a Starling and two Goldfinches. House Sparrows continue to lead the way with three more new ones plus a retrap. Apart from the Sparrows the new birds might be an indication of the start of return migration northwards.
Tuesday 8th
The wind continues to limit the number of nets. Eight birds were caught, two of these were new Blackbirds the rest were retraps - two Blue Tits and single Kestrel, Song Thrush, Chiffchaff, and Blackbird.
Monday 7th
Two interesting bits of news today. The first involves the MOTUS project. There would appear to have been a 'hit' last autumn involving a Blackcap tagged at Landguard Bird Observatory. The details can be seen by visiting the MOTUS website but are summarised below:
| Detection date
▲
|
Receiver deployment | Latitude | Longitude |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-09-28 | Landguard Bird Observatory | 51.94° | 1.32° |
| 2021-09-29 | Landguard Bird Observatory | 51.94° | 1.32° |
| 2021-09-30 | Landguard Bird Observatory | 51.94° | 1.32° |
| 2021-10-09 | Landguard Bird Observatory | 51.94° | 1.32° |
| 2021-10-09 | Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory | 51.27° |
1.37°
|
Whilst the distance and direction are not unexpected the added information by looking at the timeline is that the bird left LBO detection range at about 18:50 hrs on 9/10/21 and was over SBBOT the same evening at 20:10.
The second bit of news today arrived in the form of a phone call from a resident of nearby Worth, would we like to ring a Buzzard? We went over and the householder had a Fox trap in his garden to help protect his chickens. He had gone out this morning to find a Buzzard had walked in. It was a fledgling from last year, Still with pale fringes to some coverts and the tail tip.
Saturday 5th
Conditions were not good for accessing most nest sites and just five birds were caught. These were retrap Robin, Chaffinch (2), and Goldfinch plus a new Goldfinch.
The steady trickle of new Chaffinches has dried up. Whether they have been pushed out by the House Sparrows or we did catch most we will wait and see.
Wednesday 2nd
It was breezier than forecast but mild. Despite the wind 20 new birds and eight retraps were caught. The highlight was a Collared Dove, we did not catch one last year. Fourteen new House Sparrows were also notable and there was only one retrap. The other new birds were singles of Dunnock, Long-tailed Tit, Starling (a long winged individual probably from a northern population), Chaffinch, and Goldfinch. A Starling retrap had been ringed in one of our nest boxes two years ago.
You can scroll through past ringing records using the drop down menu to the right.